Torres and Gerrard targeted

BARCELONA AND Inter Milan are monitoring developments at Liverpool in the hope of prising Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard away from Anfield.

Liverpool could listen to offers at the end of the season because of their financial predicament. Barcelona would love to bring Torres back to his homeland and Inter are expected to try to sign Gerrard.

Jose Mourinho, Inter’s head coach, is a great admirer of the midfielder, whom he attempted to buy for Chelsea in 2004 and 2005, and the club are willing to bankroll a deal. Their technical director, Marco Branca, who looks after transfers, did not deny the club’s interest in Gerrard when the Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport reported they had made a €45 million offer at the end of last year.

“It’s very unlikely that Liverpool will sell Gerrard,” he said. “He is the symbol of the club and the player is emotionally linked to Liverpool.”

One of Italy’s most experienced agents, Claudio Pasqualin, believes the deal will happen. “Clubs are already working for the market in June,” he said. “Inter are working to sign Steven Gerrard given that Liverpool are in economic difficulty.”

Inter have started to reshuffle their midfield and more changes are expected in the summer. After allowing Patrick Vieira to sign for Manchester City, Inter are about to sell the Brazilian winger Mancini to Marseille. Ricardo Quaresma and Sulley Muntari have never fulfilled expectations and Javier Zanetti, the captain, turns 37 in August. Mourinho believes Gerrard could be a key player in his attempt to re-establish Inter as a Champions League force.

There will be no shortage of suitors for Torres if he becomes available. Barcelona are the one Spanish club the striker would have been prepared to join before he left Atletico Madrid for Liverpool. They made informal inquiries before Torres went to England and the coach, Pep Guardiola, and his board are admirers. Summer presidential elections make Torres an attractive promise for candidates.

Torres’s camp, however, believes that English football suits him more than the Spanish game. He has made a huge effort to connect with the Liverpool fans but he has also previously warned that the departure of the manager, Rafael Benitez, could leave a number of the Spanish players looking for a way out of Anfield.

Real Madrid are also admirers of Torres but their interest faces an insurmountable problem: the striker began his career as an 11-year-old at Atletico, the club he had always supported, and he has repeatedly insisted that he would never join their city rivals.

Real’s president, Florentino Perez, has tried to buy Gerrard before and would like to sign him, but a move for the midfielder this summer is unlikely.

Guardian Service

Counting The Cost: FA Cup Exit Hits Anfield Coffers

LIVERPOOL’S early exit from the FA Cup will cost the club around €9 million compared with the sum they would have received for winning the competition, but the blow to their reputation could be even greater at a time when the owners are hunting for new investment, reports Owen Gibson.

While comparatively small beer compared with the cost of their failure to progress in the Champions League, and insignificant next to the doomsday scenario of finishing outside the top four, the effect will be felt at a club where the balance sheet is under constant scrutiny.

Last year’s FA Cup winners, Chelsea, earned €5.6 million in TV and prize money and around €3.4 million in receipts. The winners of this year’s competition will receive €4.3 million in prize money, plus €225,000 for each televised match in the third and fourth rounds and €338,000 for each match in the fifth and sixth rounds, plus gate receipts. There is no television fee for semi-final or the final.

The limited funds available to manager Rafael Benitez during the transfer window, injuries to key players and the improved form of Manchester City have raised fears they may fail to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

Failure to qualify for this season’s knock-out phase cost the club only €2.7million in budgetary terms, according to managing director, Christian Purslow.

But if they miss out on next season’s tournament, which has been the key driver in maintaining the balance of power in the Premier League in recent years, they would miss out on a huge slice of revenue.

Last season the Champions League was worth €23.3 million to Liverpool but for next season Uefa have sealed improved sponsorship and TV deals. Purslow is continuing to search for new investors willing to meet Tom Hicks’ and George Gillett’s asking price of € 113 million for a 25 per cent stake in the club.

Guardian Service